Thursday, 27 December 2007

I love reading all the end of year lists, and sometimes I want to make mine before I've read any of them but this year that so didn't happy. Which is just fine and dandy as many of the films that are topping the top tens and such are ones I've not seen and I dare say a few I do not intend to see. But, considering there were 314 releases this year there are many films and lists and opinions to go around.

Surprized I Didn't See: This is England, The Wind that Shakes the Barely, La Vie En Rose

Festivals2007 was also a year of festivals, likely to be the first of many to come headed out to TIFF, Toronto After Dark, Reel Asian and One Minute. I'd have to say that Toronto After Dark was the *most* fun and had great audiences, and Reel Asian had the best overall quality of films. Kudo's all around!

The Rest

Considering I made it through a whopping 278 film in 2007 (as of Dec 27/07), if only feels fair to mention some of the great films that that I enjoyed during this year, even if they were not released this year. So, here are the odds and sods:

This was on my list to see for so long, and I am thrilled that it had a really long run in the theatre (thank you Carlton theatre!), it's unusual these days that a May release would still be kickin' around in September.

There is a beautiful understated-ness to this film that upon initially feels simple but I believe it is really truth. You feel the truth. Rarely does music I've heard for the first time bring tears to my eyes, but in this film it did. You could feel it the music, to the core of your being. I haven't even mentioned the story! I'm not sure you would really need to know much about it, other than it's about finding your way. Two people finding their way. Yep, that's enough.

Shannon's Overall View:

It is one of the most amazing films I've seenI'll buy it, and the soundtrack tooI'd recommend it to everyone

Reason to see: Did you see the description? Arcade video gamers documentary. Oh my. Also, this film has received critical acclaim amongst many in the online film community. It is week 51/52 for See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year.

Who knew there was a community dedicated to the classic arcade games? Who knew people still played classic arcade games, and had tournaments, tracked scores. I didn't. That was before watching The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. The film focuses on the journey of underdog Steve Wiebe, who decides to take a crack at breaking the world record score for Donkey Kong, set in 1982 by Billy Mitchell. But it goes so much further than just the game and delves into the world of the gamers, scorekeepers and how it affects so many parts of their lives. It has some of the best lines I've heard in ages, and that is saying something coming from a documentary. It's an unbelievable journey into lands unknown full of barrels and bytes and it is one wild ride that I would be happy to take again.

It was great to see this in the theatre, as their was tons of energy in the room was we all giggled and cheered together.

Reason to see: Guy Maddin silent film shown for 1 night at the gorgeous Elgin theatre with live narration, musicians and foley artists. Um, yes - I will be going! This also counts as week 24/52 for See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year.

This was amazing. Spectacular. Wonderous. No one can create worlds like Guy Maddin can. The atmosphere of nostalgia, the powerful emotions, the unlikely yet captivating plot. Every moment is brilliant. It's all in a flurry and with a bizarre set of characters you find yourself possibly trying to catch every moment, when you really just need to settle back and let it all unfold, and unfold it does. One of the most remarkable films I have ever seen.

Thursday, 20 December 2007

I did find it believeable, I wasn't finding (or looking) for continuity holes nor did I question the science/technology aspect of the film. Wow, I must have not been very impressed with the film if that is an opening sentence. I found that for the majority of the film thinking Will Smith is a better actor than this. I thought he was excellent in Ali and enjoyable in Hitch, but I was thinking way to much about the performance instead of just enjoying the film. I think it is a fun action film, it has a great story and a fair amount of cleverness but it did not win me over upon this viewing. However I will admit I didn't find myself initially drawn to this film, which is surprizing given that it is scifi in nature and that can often mean I am first in line! I think it is because I've enjoyed so many more foreign and independent films this year and avoided the majority of Hollywood blockbusters.

Shannon's Overall View:I found it switched between scary and slowI'd try watching it againI'd recommend it for action and scifi (of the post apocalyptic nature) fans

15 minutes of preshow including a 4 minute IMAX 'lightshow' and 3 previews including Spiderwick, Shine a Light and The Dark Knight, which was more like a 5 minute long clip as opposed to a preview. Initially I thought it actually was I Am Legend as there was no 'Mr Moviefone' or similar voice over.

Wednesday, 19 December 2007

I think it is fitting that it started where it all began, although what was the 'Paramount' Theatre is now 'Scotiabank'. I had a few tries before this worked out, third time was definitely the charm and I didn't really get into the groove of it until around summer (amazing how much easier it was to fit in after my gym membership ran out). But, then it just became the norm to do as so many habits are. It was also easier to do when I stuck to the same day of the week, Tuesday was movie day and that was that. Sometimes I saw films strictly due to the convenience of the time they were being shown at but that did not provide me with the best films to see.

Here are the numbers:52 consecutive weeks of seeing films in the theatre119 films seen6 is the most films seen in 1 day0 walkouts (although I was very close to doing so at Poultrygeist)

Some highlights and lowlights:

Feb 4/07 headed out to see 2 films due to loss of heat in my apartment. 10C isn't fun. Did I mention this was Superbowl Sunday and although it did get resolved that day the heat went off again the next day?

June 5, 2007 seeing Brand Upon the Brain at the Elgin theatre, an amazing silent film by Guy Maddin with live orchestra, narration and foley artists. Truly awesome experience!

One film, which I'll leave unnamed, I was the only person in the audience. Surreal.

Schizophrenic summer. LOVED the films I saw at the beginning of the summer: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Sunshine, The Bourne Ultimatum and Hairspray, but was disappointed towards the end with: Transformers, The Last Legion and War. Ok to be fair I wasn't expecting much from The Last Legion.

Where to watch? The majority of films I saw either at Scotiabank (great venue for sound/picture, stadium seating) or The Bloor (great selection of old and new-ish, often a festival venue, surprizingly good sightlines and I love that I can get change back from a $5 with a medium popcorn with real butter and a tea). I still love the selection at the Carlton especially for foreign film, but I wasn't over there as much.

Best Experience - TIFF Midnight Madness showing of SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO. Unbelievable energy in the room, 2 members of the cast at the preshow introduction and freaking awesome film to boot. What a ride.

I'm a long time fan on Luc Besson and I'll admit after seeing the preview for this I was a little hesitant about seeing the film. Although it promised unconventional relationship, a strong female character and a lot of visual style and being in black and white to boot. All of that on paper seems completely great. What made me hesitate was some of the gender dynamics and an odd reoccurring focus of the camera to between Angel-a's legs. Now, Besson has historically had fantastic female characters in his films (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element), so I thought I would let that go as maybe I was reading too much into it. Unfortunately I wasn't, it was oddly predominant in the film and although I believe they were going in essence an empowering thing and/or that is wasn't about gender but character, but it didnt't really work for me. Putting that aside, the films actual main focus is a down on his luck guy for whom an angel drops from the sky to take care of him. There are moral questions that come into play, the two have and interesting dynamic and it is well shot. Overall, it wasn't one that I overly enjoyed and unlike many films this year it was the film that the preview represented.

Shannon's Overall View:It was not to my tasteI'll likely not watch it againI'd recommend it to those who enjoy quirky French films and don't mind some gender crap

preshow included no commercials and 3 previews: Manufacturing Dissent, Red Road and The Boss of it All

Rarely does a film leave such a strong impression on me as After the Wedding did. After seeing it, I wanted everyone I know to see it, I didn't want to say what it was about or set it up just to get them out there to see it. I don't know of anyone who wouldn't get something from it, and honestly if I had read a plot synopsis about the film it may not have gotten me to see it. Although it's strongly plot based, it's a film seeped in emotions and family dynamics. I've not had such an emotional reaction to a film since watching Whale Rider (read: lots of kleenex required). Don't let the kleenex stop you if that isn't your thing, it's touching but not sentimental. It's believable, powerful and can make you mad all at the same time. The strength of the film clearly lies in the brilliant acting of the core characters the only one whom would likely to be known on this side of the pond is likely Mads Mikkelsen for his role as Le Chiffre in Casino Royale (2006).

This will likely be my favourite foreign film of 2007, and I say 2007 as that was the year of it's release here in Toronto.

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion PictureCasey Affleck – The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert FordJavier Bardem – No Country For Old MenPhilip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson's WarJohn Travolta – HairsprayTom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton

Wednesday, 12 December 2007

Exciting news for Canadian film, Canada's Top Ten for 2007 has been announced. I'm thrilled to see My Winnipeg on the list, a masterpiece by the one, the only Guy Maddin. Overall it is a well rounded selection of films, and like last year the majority of the films have not be out in regular theatre release. In Toronto, only 2 have shown outside festival settings: Eastern Promises and The Tracey Fragments. We do have an opportunity to see the films as they shown at Cinematheque January 25 - February 5, 2008 (see schedule here, buy tickets here).

Tuesday, 11 December 2007

2007 marks the 5th year for the One Minute Film and Video Festival. Every year there is a theme for the festival and for 2007 the theme is Secrets. This theme provided us with many films to see, and I was surprized at how often I was thinking during the film: What's the secret? It must have been a challenge to hide and reveal a secret in a mere sixty seconds.

With 52 films it was not easy to hold in the noggin' what happened in each and every one. Thankfully the festival provides views with a program that lists each of the one minute wonders along with a still shot. I for one, say a hearty "Thank you!" for the lovely memory jogger.

Here are the stand outs:

Compelling:

Beijing 2007Tania UrsomarzoBeautiful and tender moments of a flower in a glass

Ice9Evan TrapperA wealth of expression, and ice

Hilarious:

No CigarColin McIvorThis one got my vote for best. Perfect in every sense of the word.

Spoilers!Daniel Cockburn & Jeff SzpirglasSpoilers indeed, each and every one

Coming out of ContextPowzy DewhurstBrilliant reinterpretation of the Archie comics

This Thing is Bigger than the Both of Use: These Are FactsDaniel CockburnEffective and tense

Indescribable:

Deer-Leg Nun-ChucksJoe HambletonBest name out of the short, and bizarre film to boot!

The festival was a lot of fun, great energy in the room and was rounded off with awards presentation. It really packed a lot into one great night. I highly recommend checking it out next year and the years to come.

What drew me to seeing Margot at the Wedding was the preview. It showed what appeared to be a non traditional yet supportive family who were all quirky in their own ways. It also showed the two leads, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh in very 'regular person' light. When I found out it was directed by Noah Baubach who gave us The Squid and the Whale, I was convinced to get out there and see it. Although all the majority of the previous statements are true of the film, every new element it showed made the characters less likeable and less interesting. There was no one to root for, and that is something that always blows out the pilot light of interest for me. There was some strong dialogue throughout the film, but it was not as strong as The Squid and the Whale and the majority of the powerful moments were shown in the preview.

Shannon's Overall View:I was disappointedI'd try watching it againI'd recommend it to those who enjoy dramatic films about miserable people

roughly 10 minutes of preshow including 10 commercials, and previews : The Diving Bell & the Butterfly, The Kite Runner, There Will Be Blood, Poor Boy's Game and Atonement

I will be the first to admit I was surprized not to enjoy this film. Epic story, new/inventive visual technique of blending live action into animation and great characters. While all those are true, it did not hold my interest. I will note that is available to be seen in 3D and I saw it in a regular theatre setting (I can't see in 3D). I believe that if seen in 3D it would be a lot more fun, but in the regular theatre it's quite goofy seeing things flung directly at the screen. I also found the animation distraction - sometimes it looks animated, sometimes it looks so real that it felt inconsistent as a whole, and other than the 3D factor and I don't know why they would choose to do a film like that. That being said I did think the landscape and use of colour for the visuals was quite effective. I feel that the animation they used was like selective visual sampling, this face with that body and this voice. Which is such a shame, I think all of the actors involved would have provided us with a great film had it been live action.

Although there were a few good action sequences I was a little surprized by how some of them were treated. There was also a fair amount of gender crap, and of course with a story set in 507 AD I would expect that to some extent but this went a little beyond and a little bizarre. I wish they had focused more on the characters and the story rather than the spectacle.

Warnings: Violence, gender crap

There is a lot of shock-buzz about the fact that this film is rated PG-13, and that is the American rating because here in Canada it has a 14A rating, which I believe to be more appropriate. I don't usually comment on ratings but this film is quite violent and suggestive for PG-13.

Shannon's Overall View:

I thought it was goofy

I might watch it again if it was onI'd recommend it as a fun movie for 3D and action fans

Based on the Philip Pullman novel of the same name, The Golden Compass is fun fantasy film. I enjoyed many aspects including the world in which it was set, the fact that people had daemons (creature companions) and of course and outspoken and adventurous young girl. Oh how I wish there was a film such as this when I was growing up I would have seen it a millions times. I started reading the book just prior to seeing the film so it is hard to comment on the book to film accuracies in terms of plot but I will say that I felt they shifted some of the storytelling into the hands of the adult actors which I understand in theory as it would be a challenge to have so much of the film under the sole responsibility of a child actor. I'm not convinced with was the best choice, and it the film continues as a trilogy along with the books we shall see how it progresses. Out of the performances in the film I would have to say hands down that Sam Elliot supporting role was a wonderful part to the film.

On the whole the film does has some flaws be they continuity or some uneven pacing but I think it creates a great world and is likely to provoke very interesting conversations after viewing which in my opinion is always a good in sign. It even had moments that brought tears in my eyes. Whatever flaws it may have I forgive them without a doubt.

Thursday, 6 December 2007

We have not has as many dance films in 2007 which is so sad, but we do have Stomp the Yard, which is a dance movie based on stepping and that makes things a little bit better. As with many dance films it is also a coming of age film and has a solid story and great characters. For a shift in the genre this film is focused on a male protagonist, DJ played by Columbus Short whom facings many challenges be they social, class or status but the one constant in his life is always dance. Numerous great dance sequences are shown throughout the film, but I would have to say the strength of the film is in the characters. Enjoyable from beginning to end.

Shannon's Overall View: It enjoyed with enthusiasmI've already watched it again numerous times, it goes on the 'to buy' listI recommend it

Tuesday, 4 December 2007

Ah, December. The month of snow, toques, holiday cheer and lists upon list of the year in review, awards nominations and predictions. As it is getting closer and closer to the end of the year I plan on looking back on what 2007 has brought us in the land of film. From releases as far back as January to just a few short weeks ago I will let you in on my thoughts of the films, experiences and insights to the year.

I've also decided to introduce something new, called my "Non-Reviews". These are films that I either turned off, or turned me off. Normally, I would just not review the films but I've committed to writing about all the films I've seen from March 5, 2006 to Dec 1, 2008 (and likely beyond) I found myself in a bit of a pickle. The creation of my "Non-Reviews" is my way of getting out of the pickle jar.

But, the good news is that I find films most films to be enjoyable on some level and I believe that 2007 has been quite a solid year for entertaining film. I am looking forward to exploring and sharing the year!

This list of "Non-Reviews" which are films that I either turned off, or turned me off.

That being said, I do always look for the positive side of things and my overall goal with reviews is to share what the experience of the film was like as well as provide enough information about the film so people can determine if it is a film they will enjoy, regardless if I 'liked' it or not. However, every once in a while I run across films that I can not recommend. I hope this does not become a long list.

Monday, 3 December 2007

In November 2007 I decided to explore western films, for a variety of reasons ranging from wanting to define what a spaghetti western was, to having a month to focus on a topic and post every day (see my original thoughts here). One thing that was interesting that I found was that I didn't not spend a lot of time researching other than watching the films, looking and commenting on trending and pouring though a lot of the 'trivia' notes on imdb. I can now say that a spaghetti western is one that is lower budget, higher violence and produced by Italian studios (see wikipedia western link here, and don't go to the spaghetti western link unless you've seen all or most of them). So there was my 'real' research for the month.

Overall I found I liked the majority of the films that I saw. The ones that hold a special place in my heart are those which had great characters. They were not always 'good' people, but they were always charismatic and highly skilled. Often they were stand up folk, and a consistent theme was that of protecting the innocent or 'regular' people and that will always win me over.

Other themes that thread through the films are stories of money and power. This often involves a whole town but can also be between just a few people. These films were sometimes good but on the whole were not a sure-fire win for me. And one notch down from that were the films that were so strong on the violence that it's almost the only thing I can remember about them.

So, after 30 days of pouring through a film genre that on the whole I would say has the longest films, from shoot outs to stand offs here is a list of my favourite, and not so favourite, westerns. So far. Giddy up.